100 Percent Fordified: Best on the Indies – UltraMantis Black

The interview portion of this is quite interesting. Mantis goes into detail about not just being a wrestling fan, but his involvement in the punk rock music scene and how it allowed him to travel around the country. He talks about becoming a CHIKARA student through Bud Carson’s wrestling store and how the original CHIKARA class was weary of the second “New York” class. He tells a fun tale of traveling to IWA: Mid South in the Summer of 2002 where he faced Tracy Smothers. Sometimes these interviews jump from match to match or year to year, but here Mantis is asked more about specific events and his overall thoughts on certain people. His Vegan lifestyle is touched upon as is his decision to dabble in the world of death match wrestling. If you’re looking for hot gossip or dirt, this isn’t the interview for you. For someone whose character is shrouded in mystery, it was nice to get to know the man behind the mask a little better. Nothing groundbreaking or Earth shattering was shared but it was a fun 2.5 hour interview nevertheless.

UltraMantis vs. Mister ZERO
PXW – Colmar, PA – 6.23.2002

Mantis brings ZERO to the mat in a side headlock. ZERO turns it into a headscissors. Mantis gets the side headlock re-applied. Mantis takes ZERO over with a hip toss, then drop toe holds him into a butterfly lock. ZERO gets the ropes to escape. ZERO catches him with a backbreaker for two. ZERO puts on a headscissors and stretches out Mantis’ arms. Mantis side Russian leg sweeps ZERO into a grounded Octopus Stretch. ZERO escapes. He catches Mantis with a clothesline. ZERO puts on the newspaper assisted Camel Clutch. Once he let’s go, Mantis hits him with a flying hip attack and a pair of clotheslines. Another hip attack takes ZERO down. He calls for the Praying Mantis Bomb. ZERO escapes but takes the Uncle Slam for two. ZERO takes Mantis down with a bulldog. He gets two with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Mantis ducks a clothesline. He hits the Praying Mantis Bomb for the pin at 6:01. This was more or less both guys going through the motions. The crowd didn’t really know what to make of them, but it was fine for the time given. *½

Elimination Match
UltraMantis, Mister ZERO & Mike Quackenbush vs. Reckless Youth, Ichabod Slayne & Hallowicked
KAPOW – Philadelphia, PA – 7.28.2002

Youth’s team attacks Quackenbush’s team at the bell. Youth back elbows Mantis and sends him to the floor. Slayne dropkicks ZERO as Hallowicked disposes of Quackenbush. Quackenbush ducks Hallowicked and Slayne’s double clothesline and dropkicks them both. Quackenbush and Mantis attack them in the corner. Quackenbush palm strikes Hallowicked, ZERO gives Slayne a backbreaker, and Mantis hip attacks Youth. Mantis then slingshot sentons onto Slayne and Hallowicked on the floor. Quackenbush tope con hilo’s onto Youth. Youth and his team threaten to leave but decide against it. Hallowicked shoulder blocks ZERO. ZERO hip tosses him and takes him over with a Japanese armdrag. Mantis punches Hallowicked to the corner. Youth tags in. He and Mantis exchange forearms and chops. Mantis armdrags Youth to the floor. Slayne and Quackenbush armdrag one another. Quackenbush puts him in the Cerebro Lock. Youth knees Quackenbush from the ring apron, allowing Slayne to hit him with a dropkick from the second rope. Youth’s team wears down Quackenbush until he reverses an abdominal stretch from Slayne and gets the crowd and fans to help stretch him out. Slayne however keeps Quackenbush isolated after the fact. Youth’s team misses a triple headbutt, allowing Quackenbush time to finally tag out. Both Mantis and ZERO come in and clean house. Mantis puts Hallowicked in a headscissors, which leads to Slayne putting Mantis in a headscissors. Quackenbush turns them all over in a Boston Crab while ZERO has Slayne in a crossface. Youth puts a Dragon Clutch on Quackenbush. The submission chain breaks. A headlock chain is then formed. Mantis DDT’s everybody out of it. He hits the Praying Mantis Bomb on Hallowicked for two. Hallowicked gives him a Rydeen Bomb. He then drops on Slayne on Mantis Burning Hammer style, eliminating Mantis at 17:38. Slayne knees ZERO in the face and drops him with a Blockbuster for two. Slayne goes for it again. Quackenbush instead palm strikes him into ZERO’s Last Shaven Unicorn for the elimination at 18:36. Youth gives ZERO the Hamachan Cutter. Hallowicked puts him away with a neckbreaker in 19:13. Quackenbush sends Hallowicked feet first into Youth. He gives Hallowicked the Quackendriver I to eliminate him at 19:53. Quackenbush and Youth get in a pinfall exchange. Quackenbush blocks a clothesline and calls for a Tiger Driver. When Youth drops to a knee, Quackenbush kicks him in the head a few times. He drops Youth with the Black Tornado Slam for two. Quackenbush tries a top rope Frankensteiner. Youth holds the ropes. He Graham Crackers Quackenbush for the pin and the win at 21:20. Not sure why this was elimination, but this followed the formula most every CHIKARA match during this time had. Seeing Youth and Quackenbush in the ring together is always a treat, though. **½

UltraMantis vs. Tracy Smothers
IWA Mid-South “Wrestling in Hades – Night 2” – Clarksville, IN – 8.3.2002

Smothers backs Mantis to the corner in a lock-up. Smothers claims hair pulling when Mantis leaves the corner. He also claims tight pulling when they go to the mat. Mantis gets on a wristlock. Smothers takes him over in a fireman’s carry. He calls for a timeout and wants the referee to check to see if Mantis greased himself up. He then attacks Mantis from behind. After some elbows to the eye, Smothers shoulder tackles Mantis twice. Mantis hits him with a hip attack for two. He drop toe holds Smothers into a Magistral cradle for two. Smothers elbows his way out of a side Russian leg sweep. Mantis follows Smothers to the floor with a slingshot somersault senton. Mantis then lands a suicide dive. He comes off the top with a clothesline. Smothers rolls back to the floor. Mantis misses a baseball slide and is taken down with a back elbow. Smothers misses a clothesline but sends Mantis shoulder first into the ring post. He then throws Mantis into a section of chairs. He throws a chair at Mantis’ head. Smothers brings Mantis back to the ring for a pin but only gets two. Mantis sneaks in a backslide. Smothers kicks out and clotheslines him. He elbows and chokes Mantis in the corner. Mantis gets in some chops. Smothers tries a DDT. Mantis blocks with an atomic drop and butterfly suplex. He applies a seated Octopus Stretch. Smothers escapes. Mantis fireman’s carry’s Smothers back into the seated Octopus Stretch. Smothers gets the ropes. He rakes Mantis’ eyes. He spears Mantis and gives him a leg-capture slam for the pin at 13:33. This was a fun novelty match, especially with CM Punk and Dave Prazak on commentary. It wasn’t the best match in the world but honestly better than I expected. **¼

The Dark Breed (UltraMantis Black & Hallowicked) vs. Men at Work (Mister ZERO & Shane Storm)
CHIKARA “Aniversario 3: Dodging the Sophomore Jinx” – Emmaus, PA – 5.22.2004

Storm gets the better of UltraMantis at the start. ZERO tags in and Mantis immediately tags in Hallowicked. ZERO throws Hallowicked to the corner asking for a tag but doesn’t get it. ZERO fights off Hallowicked and applies a Camel Clutch right in front of Mantis’ face. Hallowicked whips ZERO to the corner. Mantis and Hallowicked run at him and Storm puts up the STOP sign. ZERO reads the newspaper while they’re halted. He then comes off the ropes with a dropkick to both guys. Mantis ducks down the ropes as Storm hits them, and Mantis sends ZERO to the floor. Hallowicked and Mantis isolate Storm from ZERO. Storm catches Hallowicked with a sunset flip in an attempt to switch the momentum, but Hallowicked counters and keeps the beating going with Mantis. Storm finally tags in ZERO, who takes out Mantis with a barrage of clotheslines. Hallowicked comes in and makes matters worse by clotheslining Mantis by accident. ZERO and Storm take Hallowicked and Mantis to the floor with Cactus clotheslines. ZERO throws Mantis face first into a wall. All four guys then brawl into two separate bathrooms right next to one another. Storm throws Hallowicked back into the ring as Mantis tries to push ZERO’s face into a fire pit in the corner of the building (it’s not a raging fire, but a hot looking coal). Hallowicked hits a hurricanrana on Storm for two. Storm gives Hallowicked a release German suplex and That Japanese Move (a Shining Wizard). Storm looks for the Air Raid Crash but Mantis stops him. ZERO sends Hallowicked to the floor. He gives Mantis a bulldog out of the corner. ZERO drops Mantis with a gutwrench powerbomb variation. He then drops Mantis face first on Storm’s STOP sign with the Last Shaven Unicorn drop for two. Hallowicked breaks the pin. Storm and ZERO hit the ropes. Mantis drags ZERO out and forearms Storm. Hallowicked tags Storm with a Yakuza kick for the pin at 11:20. Really fun tag match that ended up being a lot better than I expected. Mantis took the drop on the STOP sign like a champ and everyone did a good job. **¾

The Dark Dreed (UltraMantis Black & Hallowicked) vs. Matt Turner & Anthony Franco
CHIKARA “Don’t Eat The Black One” – Emmaus, PA – 3.19.2005

Turner twists on Mantis’ arm, and Franco tags in. Franco grabs a side headlock. Turner tags back in and brings Mantis to the mat in a headlock. Mantis escapes but Franco takes him right back down in the headlock. Mantis shoots Turner off into an elbow. Franco blind tags in and takes Mantis to the mat in a headlock. Franco hits a back senton for two. Franco hits a shoulder tackle, and Mantis bails to the floor to recoup with Hallowicked. Franco trips Hallowicked and gives him a suplex. Franco hits Hallowicked with double knees in the corner and follows up with a senton splash. Turner tags in, but Hallowicked hot shots him immediately. The Dark Breed turns the match around but trapping Turner in their corner. Turner turns a clothesline from Hallowicked into an Ace crusher. This allows him to escape and tag in Franco. He slams both Hallowicked and Mantis and then gives Hallowicked a neck breaker. Mantis gives Franco an arm capture snapmare driver and Turner breaks the pin. Hallowicked picks up Franco and hits the Graveyard Smash, but Turner breaks the pin again. Hallowicked assists Mantis in hitting a Praying Mantis Bomb, but Franco for the third time in a row breaks the pin. Turner comes down on the Dark Breed with a double crossbody and gives Mantis a divorce court DDT. He applies an armbar which Hallowicked breaks. Mantis and Hallowicked bring Turner off the top rope with a stacked-up superplex for the pin at 11:24. This was a fun tag match to open the show. CHIKARA has done so much more for ROH’s students than ROH has. Mantis and Hallowicked continue to be a very good team and I think a rematch is destined for these two teams. **¾

UltraMantis Black vs. Shane Storm
CHIKARA “Aniversario Orange” – Emmaus, PA – 5.21.2005

Hallowicked accompanies Mantis to the ring. Mantis rolls up Storm for two. Storm takes Mantis over with a quesadora and a back body drop. He tries to monkey flip Mantis out of the corner, but Mantis hangs him on the ropes and chops him in the chest. Storm comes back with an alita. Mantis retreats to the floor. Storm goes for a suicide dive, but Hallowicked catches him with a yakuza kick as he flies out. Mantis drops Storm with a neckbreaker for two. Storm sunset flips Mantis for two. Mantis flies at Storm with a clothesline for two. Mantis knee strikes Storm in the corner. Storm moves out of the way of a second knee strike, causing Mantis to hit the floor. Storm flies off the apron with a somersault senton. Storm and Mantis engage in a hard forearm exchange. Storm looks for the Air Raid Crash on the floor, but Mantis instead drops Storm with a Death Valley Driver on the apron! Mantis only gets a two count. Storm reverses a tornado DDT with a German suplex. He drops a Muta elbow for two. Storm hits a second rope elbow drop for two. Storm kicks out Mantis’ legs and hits him with That Japanese Move. Hallowicked gets on the apron to distract the referee. Mantis tries an O’Conner Roll, but Storm moves so that Mantis and Hallowicked collide. Storm hits a second That Japanese Move for the pin at 9:49. That was a refreshing change from everything else on the card so far. This actually felt like the guys were fighting for pride and the win felt important for Storm. The exchange on the floor was excellent and Kingston’s reaction on commentary made it much more fun. **¾

ICW/ICWA Texarkana Television Championship
Larry Sweeney (Champion) vs. UltraMantis Black
CHIKARA “Ursinus College Show” – Collegeville, PA – 10.30.2005

Larry Sweeney coming out to Kurtis Blow is perfect. He also gets an absolutely tremendous reaction. God I miss him. Mantis chops Sweeney after breaking a lock-up in the corner. Sweeney does the same, this time slapping Mantis in the face and strutting away. Mantis breaks a headlock with a headscissors. He back chops Sweeney. Sweeney falls forward back into the headlock. On their feet, Mantis turns the headlock into a hammerlock. Sweeney sends Mantis to the floor. Mantis walks out in frustration. Sweeney jogs to the back and carries Mantis back out. Sweeney punches him off the apron and suicide dives after him. Sweeney misses a shoulder tackle, sending himself shoulder first into the ring post. Mantis suplexes Sweeney for two. Mantis chokes him on the middle rope and with his boot in the corner. Sweeney sunset flips Mantis for two. Mantis knocks him down with a flying clothesline for two. Mantis applies a headscissors and grabs the ropes for leverage. Mantis goes up top after a suplex. Sweeney throws him back into the ring. Sweeney hits the Bionic Elbow. Sweeney superplexes him for two. Mantis hits the Praying Mantis facebuster for two. Sweeney comes with a Gourd Buster for the pin at 10:51. That was a lot of fun, as you would expect from both men. Aside from the solid technical work, the crowd loved Sweeney and made for a really enjoyable viewing experience. **½

UltraMantis Black vs. Hallowicked
CHIKARA “Once in a Lifetime” – Reading, PA – 9.22.2006

Hallowicked rushes the ring and attacks Mantis right away. He brings Mantis to the floor to continue his assault. They end up back in the ring where Hallowicked gives him a step-up Frankensteiner and the Go 2 Sleepy Hollow. Mantis kicks out. Hydra hits Hallowicked in the back with Mantis’ staff from the floor. Mantis drops an elbow for two. He spins Hallowicked a few times before dropping him with a neckbreaker. He puts on a grounded hammerlock. Hallowicked elbows his way free, but Mantis throws Hallowicked to the mat by his stem. Mantis attacks his lower back where Hydra hit him with the staff. Hydra chokes Hallowicked on the ropes while Mantis distracts Bryce Remsburg. He drop toe holds Hallowicked into a butterfly lock. Mantis can’t get Hallowicked up from the Praying Mantis Bomb, so he chokes him instead. Hallowicked catches Mantis with the Rydeen Bomb. He sunset flips Mantis off the apron and to the floor! Hydra gives Hallowicked a hook clothesline on the floor after Mantis is back in the ring. Mantis gets two with a Tiger Driver. Hallowicked blocks an Irish Whip. He hits the Monster Mash for two. He big boots Mantis in the back of the head. Hydra comes into the ring. Hallowicked boots him to the floor. Mantis schoolboys Hallowicked for the pin at 10:27. Abrupt finish aside this was quite good. I liked the intensity Hallowicked brought at the beginning and how he carried it throughout the match. He even chases Hydra and Mantis to the back to show just how angry he is at them. The middle portion was a little slow, but from the sunset flip to the floor to the end, it was all gravy. **¾

The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (UltraMantis Black & Hydra) vs. Incoherence (Hallowicked & Delirious)
CHIKARA “Cibernetico & Robin”- Philadelphia, PA – 9.22.2007

Delirious goes crazy at the bell. Hydra is unafraid, posing right in Delirious’ face. Delirious outsmarts Hydra, stomping on his left hand twice. Hallowicked tags in. He and Delirious take turns throwing Hydra’s hand repeatedly into the top turnbuckle. Hallowicked gives the hand a yakuza kick! Mantis tags in which hurts Hydra’s hand. Delirious blocks his big boot and bites on Mantis’ bare foot! Both he and Hallowicked chop the bare foot. Delirious stomps on it and throws it into Hydra’s hand. Incoherence dropkick the Order to the floor. Delirious and Hydra are about to lock up when Mantis attacks Delirious from behind. He chokes Delirious on the middle rope. He hangs him up in the tree of woe and whips Hydra into him for a dropkick. Delirious throws Hydra off his shoulders, chest first into the mat. Hallowicked tags in. He chops up Mantis and gives him a step-up Frankensteiner. The Rydeen Bomb gets two. Hydra axe handles him in the back and drops him with a Complete Shot. The Order hold onto his arms while digging their feet into the side of his head. Delirious breaks that up. He gives Mantis a headscissors and headbutts Hydra in the stomach as he comes off the top rope. He hits Mantis with the Panic Attack. Hydra drops Delirious with a hooking clothesline. Hallowicked yakuza kicks Hydra for the pin and their third point at 7:04. This was goofy and really fun. Of course these two teams have excellent chemistry and the crowd was into it. **¼

Carnage Cup Opening Round – Lighttube Board, Lighttube Table, Barbed Wire Board, Barbed Wire Table
UltraMantis Black vs. Sexxxy Eddy vs. Scotty Vortekz
IWA Deep South “Carnage Cup 2007” – Pulaski, TN – 12.1.2007

Whomever loses is eliminated, while the other two advance into the next round. Mantis comes of the second rope with a tornado clutch to Vortekz. Eddy breaks the pin with a lighttube which takes three shots to shatter. Vortekz clotheslines Eddy onto the lighttube shards. Mantis small packages Vortekz to two. Vortekz sends Mantis to the floor and does damage to the part of Eddy’s back which has cuts from the shards. Mantis rubs the barbed wire into Eddy’s head while Vortekz holds onto him. Vortekz chops Mantis against the rops. Mantis whips him into the barbed wire board. He gives Eddy the Uncle Slam for two. Vortekz spinwheel kicks Mantis for two. Mantis avoids being sent through the lighttube board. He suplexes Vortekz for two. Vortekz chops Mantis to the apron. Eddy attacks Vortekz, allowing Mantis to give him a Death Valley Driver through the barbed wire table! Eddy pins Vortekz for two. The wire is stuck in Mantis’ back as Eddy pins him for two. Mantis and Eddy bring the lighttube table into the ring. Mantis then shoves Eddy stomach first into the barbed wire from the barbed wire table. Mantis places a leg of the table on Vortekz’s neck. He then climbs the ropes for seemingly no reason. Eddy and Vortekz end up giving him a double superplex through the lighttube table for the pin at 10:52. That last spot was really contrived but the impact through the table was pretty crazy. This was alright. It was pretty interesting seeing Mantis in this environment, if nothing else. **

CHIKARA vs. Big Japan Wrestling Best of 5 Series
UltraMantis Black vs. Jaki Numazawa
CHIKARA “The Global Gauntlet, Night 1” – Easton, PA – 10.18.2008

Numazawa claims hair pulling (he’s mostly bald) after Mantis cleanly breaks a lock-up against the ropes. Numazawa also breaks cleanly against the ropes. Mantis claims hair pulling despite wearing a mask. Numazawa puts on an overhand wristlock. Mantis powers out of it. After a heart punch Mantis delivers two armdrags. Numazawa strings a stomach punch, knee strike, chinbreaker, and back elbow together. He gets a two count with a back suplex. Mantis reverses a whip in the corner. He drops Numazawa throat first on the top rope. He puts Numazawa’s hair in his mouth. Mantis spins him around a few times before hitting the Rude Awakening for two. He twists on Numazawa’s ankle. Numazawa sends Mantis to the floor with a Frankensteiner. He baseball slides Mantis into the crowd. Numazawa threatens to throw him into the crowd but ends up sending him face first into a ring post. Mantis comes back with a slam on the floor. Numazawa responds with a suplex on the floor. Bryce Remsburg stops him from using a chair. Mantis attacks Numazawa from behind. Back in the ring Mantis Mongolian chops him. Numazawa blocks a hip toss. Mantis knees him in the stomach. He looks for the Praying Mantis Bomb. Numazawa stomps on his foot and backslides Mantis for two. Numazawa blocks a punch and sends Mantis’ arm into Bryce. Numazawa low blows Mantis. He puts Mantis away with a Death Valley Driver variant at 9:36. This meandered in the middle but it was cool seeing these two characters face off against one another. However, them playing up their Rudo ways even more would have made for a more interesting story. **¼

UltraMantis Black vs. Helios
CHIKARA “Armdrags to Riches” – Wallingford, CT – 11.16.2008

Last night, Mantis pinned Helios during the Cibernetico with the Cosmic Disaster. Mantis trips him into a front facelock. Helios escapes and drops a knee across Mantis’ arm. After driving his knee into Mantis’ back he goes for a series of pinning combinations. Helios sends Mantis to the floor with a hiponesa. Helios follows him out with a Sasuke Special. Mantis catches him with a drop toe hold into the ring post. In the ring he drops an elbow on Helios’ back for two. He takes him over with a suplex for another two count. Mantis ties up his arms around his leg and bends back to stretch out Helios’ back. Helios gets the ropes. Mantis chokes him in the corner. Helios delivers a jumping knee strike but Mantis cuts him off with a clothesline. Mantis gives him a spinebuster and puts him in the Safari Stretch. Helios avoids a corner attack and nails a cannonball senton. He lands a lionsault press, a spinwheel kick, and a tornado kick for two. Helios ends up on Mantis’ shoulders. Mantis drops him with a Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for two. Helios gives him a Cobra Clutch back breaker and the Burning Screwdriver. He misses a moonsault. Mantis goes for the Cosmic Disaster. Helios escapes and hits the Burning Star Driver for the pin at 9:39. You wouldn’t expect it, but these two worked very well together. It was cool seeing Mantis bust out some stuff from his old bag of tricks and Helios utilizing a new finisher to win after teasing the way Mantis defeated Helios last night. A fun surprise. **¾

UltraMantis Black vs. Hydra
CHIKARA “Duel & Duality” – Philadelphia, PA – 12.14.2008

Mantis and Hydra roll to the floor in an aggressive collar and elbow tie-up. Mantis Mongolian chops Hydra. Hydra responds with a chop of his own and a double axe handle to the back. He drives Mantis back first into the ring apron. He sits Mantis by the guardrails and facewash kicks him into the guardrails! He misses a cannonball senton, sending himself into the guardrails. Hydra makes it back into the ring right before the twenty count. Mantis chokes Hydra with a scarf. He gives Hydra a spinebuster. Mantis goes for the Safari Stretch. Hydra fights out, so Mantis clotheslines him down. Mantis gives Hydra the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex. He pulls up Hydra before the three count. Mantis drops Hydra on his head with a modified belly-to-back suplex for two. He goes for the Praying Mantis Bomb. He changes his mind and gives Hydra three Heart Punches instead. He misses a series of corner attacks. Hydra rolls him up for two. Mantis tries for the Cosmic Disaster. Hydra slips out and bodyslams Mantis. He goes for the Hydralock. Mantis slips out and rolls Hydra into the Praying Mantis Bomb. Hydra backdrops out of it. Mantis has the arms hooked still and looks for the Praying Mantis Bomb again. Hydra switches into the Hydralock. Mantis can’t free himself, even after driving Hydra into the corner multiple times. Mantis submits at 7:49. This was exactly the way the people wanted this feud to end; Hydra making Mantis submit cleanly. They had a fun brawl in the beginning and evolved it into a dramatic bout. While it wasn’t long or the best wrestling you’ve ever seen, it was satisfying. **½

The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (UltraMantis Black & Crossbones) vs. The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant)
CHIKARA “Japan Showcase, Night 1” – Saitama, Japan – 6.12.2009

Soldier Ant salutes Crossbones to throw him off his game. Crossbones is annoyed by it and tries to stop Soldier Ant. Soldier Ant gets on Crossbones’ shoulders and tries a sunset flip. Crossbones sits down, but Soldier Ant escapes in time. Solider Ant looks for a monkey flip, but Crossbones places Soldier Ant on the top rope. Soldier Ant comes off with a saluting armdrag. Mantis and Fire Ant tag in. Mantis works over Fire Ant’s arm. He brings Fire Ant to the mat. Both guys go back and forth on the ropes, and Fire Ant armdrags into a pin for two. Mantis lays in the Mongolian chops. Fire Ant wheelbarrows into a cradle for two. Mantis hits the floor and Crossbones hops in to prevent a dive. Crossbones chops Fire Ant down. Mantis holds him, but he moves and Crossbones slaps Mantis by accident. Soldier Ant flies in and Crossbones catches him. Fire Ant dropkicks Soldier Ant so that he falls onto Crossbones. Crossbones accidentally chops Mantis and Mantis admonishes him. The Colony take out both members of the Order. Mantis drops Soldier Ant neck first on the top rope, and Crossbones hits him with an enzugiri. The Order isolate Soldier Ant from Fire Ant and beat him down. Soldier Ant eventually escapes the Order’s grasp by hitting the floor, which tags in Fire Ant. He comes in with multiple strikes to Mantis and Crossbones. He takes them both down with a headscissors/armdrag combo. Fire Ant hops off Crossbones’ back and dropkicks Mantis into the corner. The Colony hit Mantis and Crossbones in the same corner with tandem seated dropkicks. The Colony send Mantis to the floor, and Soldier Ant lands on him with a tope. Fire Ant lands on Crossbones with a slingshot senton for two. Fire Ant wheelbarrows up into a backbreaker from Crossbones. Soldier Ant tries to slam Crossbones with no luck at first. Soldier Ant does finally slam him and heads up top. Mantis crotches Soldier Ant and throws him to the mat from the top rope. Mantis drops him with the Cosmic Disaster for two. Crossbones drops Soldier Ant with a Samoan Drop for two. Mantis looks for an assisted Praying Mantis Bomb with Crossbones. Soldier Ant escapes. Fire Ant gives Crossbones the Heat of the Moment. The Colony drop Mantis with a neckbreaker/powerbomb combo for two. Soldier Ant locks Mantis in the CHIKARA Special for the submission at 14:10. A good, but not great main event. It gave the Japanese crowd a nice taste of CHIKARA, but didn’t do a heck of a lot for regular CHIKARA viewers. **½

The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (UltraMantis Black & Crossbones) vs. Shadow WX & Yuichi Tanaguchi
CHIKARA “Japan Showcase, Night 2” – Tokyo, Japan – 6.13.2009

Mantis stomps on Shadow and slaps him in the corner. Crossbones comes in and The Order put the boots to Shadow after a double shoulder block. Shadow and Mantis trade shoulder blocks. Shadow kicks Mantis and mows him down with a shoulder block. Taniguchi and Crossbones come in. Taniguchi knees Crossbones and fires away with forearms to the back. Taniguchi fails to slam Crossbones, but then dumps him on a second attempt. Crossbones evades an elbow and gives Taniguchi a slam back. Mantis kicks Taniguchi in the back as he hits the ropes. Taniguchi and Crossbones trade chops. Crossbones knocks Taniguchi down with a clothesline. The Order to continue to beat on Taniguchi. Taniguchi bites Mantis’ foot as he chokes Taniguchi in the corner, and Crossbones boots him to stop it. Mantis snapmares Taniguchi and Taniguchi grabs his antennae. The Order keep on Taniguchi until Taniguchi gets a roll-up. After getting two he tags in Shadow. Shadow knocks The Order down with double clotheslines. Shadow clotheslines Mantis in the corner and drops him with a brainbuster. Shadow clotheslines Mantis and transitions into a crossface. Crossbones breaks it. Taniguchi splashes Crossbones. Mantis goes to break the count with an elbow, but drops it on Crossbones when Taniguchi moves. Shadow and Taniguchi take Crossbones down with a double shoulder block. Taniguchi heads up top, and Mantis grabs his leg. Crossbones throws him off the mat and lands on him with a senton for two. A double flapjack gets the Order a two count on Taniguchi. Mantis takes Shadow to the floor while Crossbones heads up top. He hits a big splash from the top rope for the pin at 9:16. This was a solid tag match that slowly built up to a decent ending. **

UltraMantis Black vs. Delirious
CHIKARA “We Must Eat Michigan’s Brain” – Taylor, MI – 6.26.2010

Mantis tells Delirious that he stabbed him in the back and that he wants answers. Ares, who is ringside, blows the dog whistle and Delirious tries a dropkick. Mantis is able to hang with the deranged Delirious for a bit, going tit-for-tat with strikes and reversals. Delirious throws Mantis to the floor, and Mantis brings him out. Mantis throws Delirious face first into a beam. Mantis gives Delirious some chops, and Delirious fires back with some shots of his own. In the ring, Delirious gets an abdominal stretch, and Mantis reverses. Mantis hip tosses Delirious and drops him with a neckbreaker. Back on the floor, Delirious throws Mantis shoulder first into the ring post. In the ring Delirious gives Mantis a divorce court DDT. Delirious keeps on the arm until Mantis drops Delirious on his head with a release suplex. Mantis hip tosses Delirious out of the corner. Mantis brings Delirious corner-to-corner hitting a new strike each time. He fakes out Delirious with a clothesline out of a whip. Mantis looks for the Praying Mantis Bomb and Ares throws Delirious’s chain in the ring. Behind the officials back, Ares gets on the apron. Mantis throws Delirious into Ares and rolls up Delirious with an O’Conner Roll for the pin at 6:07. The fans give Mantis a big ovation for his major victory. This was so much fun to watch, and I loved these two just laying into each other. Mantis winning was a refreshing surprise and really adds more to the story than if Delirious were just able to win right away. **½

Falls Count Anywhere Match
UltraMantis Black vs. Ares
CHIKARA “The Germans” – Philadelphia, PA – 11.21.2010

BDK official Derek Sabato is the referee assigned to this match. Mantis throws a carton of soy milk at Ares before the bell. Ares chokes Mantis with his t-shirt. Mantis brings Ares and himself to the floor with a Cactus clothesline. Mantis suplexes Ares onto the ring steps. Sabato slow counts him for two. Mantis and Ares go backstage where Mantis throws Ares face first into a chair. Their fight is brought up to the Commentation Station where Leonard F. Chikarason and Bryce Remsburg are. Ares slams Mantis on a table for two. Ares tries to throw Mantis off the balcony, but Mantis has the wherewithal to fight back. He gives Ares a Michinoku Driver on the floor, and Sabato again slow counts the pin. Mantis throws Ares down with stairs. They fight into the crowd. Mantis slams a trashcan into Ares for two. Mantis throws Ares into a pile of chairs. Mantis clotheslines Ares for two, and Sabato’s count is noticeably normal as Mantis pins Ares in front of Wink Vavasseur. The fight goes to the front of the arena. Mantis looks for a Praying Mantis Bomb on the sidewalk. Ares blocks and throws Mantis into the wall of the arena for two. Ares throws him head first into the steel grating at the arena entrance, and then throws a full trashcan at him. Ares brings Mantis back into the arena, and they fight up to the top of the bleachers. Ares looks for a Tiger Driver. Mantis counters by back dropping Ares off of the bleachers and onto a couple of storage boxes. Of course, Sabato’s slow count gives Ares plenty of time to kick out. Tursas comes out to cheer on Ares. Mantis gets in a cherry picker and moves it up high. Mantis dives off with a crossbody to Ares and Tursas! Mantis covers Ares for two. Mantis mauls Ares back to the ringside area. Tursas follows them and attacks Mantis as he crawls over the guardrail. Tursas misses a splash, hitting the ring post. Mantis dives onto Tursas. Tursas catches him and crotches Mantis on the guardrail. In the ring, Ares drops Mantis with a Tiger Driver. Mantis miraculously kicks out. Mantis points to the back, beckoning for someone to come out. The two druid characters that have been following him emerge. They reveal themselves to be Obariyon & Kodama, the mysterious tag team that’s been running around CHIKARA for the past couple of months. They menacingly get into the ring as Ares looks terrified. Before they can strike, a third hooded man comes out and beckons them to the back. Obariyon and Kodama obey, leaving Mantis by himself once again. Mantis is most upset at the scenario that has unfolded. Ares clobbers Mantis with a steel chair. As a measure of humiliation, Ares drops Mantis with the Praying Mantis Bomb on the steel chair to score the pin at 13:07. I love when CHIKARA does brawls like this, because they’re so few and far between that they mean something when they occur. Mantis and Ares had a brawl the likes of which you’ve never seen in CHIKARA and made it count. The fans went bananas for Mantis, and when Obariyon and Kodama “turned” on him, they were confused and upset at the same time (but in a good way). I loved the execution of this match and am excited to see the Obariyon and Kodama story play out. ***¼

UltraMantis Black vs. Tursas
CHIKARA “Engulfed in a Fever of Spite” – Burlington, NC – 5.14.2011

It takes some effort, but Mantis manages to knock Tursas to the floor with a shoulder tackle. Mantis chops and kicks Tursas ringside. Tursas boots a steel chair into Mantis’ face. Tursas suplexes Mantis in from the apron. Tursas drops a hard elbow. Tursas slams Mantis and puts on a Boston crab. Tursas stretches Mantis back first across the bottom rope. Tursas runs his giant buttocks into Mantis in the corner. Tursas suplexes him and plans his next move in the corner. Mantis kicks Tursas’ legs in an attempt to take him down. Mantis dragonscrews Tursas down. Tursas sends Mantis to the apron. Mantis snaps Tursas’ neck across the top rope and goes up top. Mantis comes down with a high crossbody. Mantis lays in some Mongolian chops. He hooks Tursas for the Praying Mantis Bomb but can’t lift Tursas up. He snaps Tursas’ neck and hits a low clothesline for two. Tursas splashes Mantis in the corner. Tursas goes up top. He comes down with a moonsault but misses! Mantis rolls up Tursas for the pin at 8:30. What an incredible feat for such a big man. Tursas really has improved tremendously, and that finish shows you that. Mantis looks like a major player as he gears up for the 12 Large: Summit and now has a big win over the BDK. **½

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

As UltraMantis Black really only wrestles in CHIKARA, this set is more or less designed for CHIKARA fans as opposed to wrestling fans in general. The match collection is solid in terms of variety and giving you an overall look at Mantis' career but there's nothing particularly stellar or "must see." If you are a CHIKARA fan but your collection lacks most of the matches listed, or the interview interests you, it's worth your $20. Otherwise, you can comfortably pass this one up. You can pick up the DVD from Smart Mark Video.